Cyclostomes

Dr. Anjana Singha Naorem

Introduction
 The Cyclostomata (Gr., cyklos = circular + stoma = mouth) are the living agnathans,
they are primitive in many respects, but specialised in others.
 They are a modified and degenerate offshoot of the primitive vertebrate stalk, arose
in the Devonian. In the adult state they are parasitic or scavengers on fishes.
 They have round bodies with laterally compressed or diphycercal tail. They
resemble eels superficially.
 The suctorial mouth is ventral and round (hence, Cyclostomata). Buccal cavity has a
muscular tongue bearing epidermal teeth by which they rasp the flesh of fishes.
 They are the only living vertebrates without jaws.
 The skin is soft and devoid of scales, paired appendages are absent, though median
fins are present and supported by cartilaginous fin rays.
 Exoskeleton is lacking. Endoskeleton is cartilaginous with no bones and the
vertebral column is primitive.
 Cyclostomata include lampreys and hagfishes. Its two order are not closely related,
because they have evolved from different orders of ostracoderms.
General Characters
 1. Body long, rounded, eel-like
 2. Median fins with cartilaginous fin rays, but no paired appendages. Tail
diphycercal.
 3. Skin soft, smooth, containing unicellular mucous glands but without
scales.
 4. Trunk and tail muscles segmented into myotomes separated by
mycommata.
 5. Endoskeleton fibrous and cartilaginous. Notochord persist throughout
life. Imperfect neural arches (arcualia) over notochord represent
rudimentary vertebrae.
 6. Jaws absent (Group Agnatha).
 7. Mouth ventral, suctorial and circular. Due to circular mouth, the class
name Cyclostomata (Gr., cyclos = circular, stoma = mouth).
 8. Nostril is single and median.
 9. Digestive system without stomach. Intestine with a fold, typhlosole.
 10. Gills 5 to 16 pairs in lateral sac-like pouches of pharynx, hence, another name
of class Marsipobranchii. Gill-slits 1 to 16 pairs.
 11. Heart 2 chambered with 1 auricle and 1 ventricle, with a conus arteriosus
anteriorly. Many aortic arches in gill region. Hepatic portal system present. Blood
with leucocytes and nucleated circular erythrocytes. Body temperature variable
(poikilothermal).
 12. Two metanephric kidneys with ducts to urinogenital papilla.
 13. Dorsal nerve cord with differentiated brain 8 to 10 pairs of cranial nerves.
 14. Single median olfactory sac. Auditory organ with 1 or 2 semicircular canals.
 15. Sexes separate or united. Gonad single, large, without gonoduct.
 16. Fertilisation external. Development director with a prolonged larval stage.
Classification

 About 50 species of cyclostomes are recognised. They belong

to two major divisions (Petromyzontiformes and
Myxiniformes). They are termed variously as subclasses,
orders or families. Because they possess a round jawless
mouth, they are combined in the class Cyclostomata.
 The similarity of these two groups is probably the result of
convergent evolution. However, they show important and
basic morphological differences which can be attributed to
their long phylogenetic separation and different habits and
habitats.
 Order 1: Petromyzontiformes (Gr., petros = stone; myzon = suck):
 Members of this order are called lampreys or lamper eels or lamperns or sand pride,
etc.
 1. Mouth ventral, suctorial with rasping tongue beset with many horny teeth.
 2. Nostril dorsal. Nasohypophyseal sac terminates posteriorly in a blind sac, i.e., it does
not communicate with the pharynx.
 3. 7 pairs of gill-pouches and gill-slits which open into a separate respiratory pharynx
below the oesophagus.
 4. Dorsal fin well developed.
 5. Branchial basket complete.
 6. Dorsal and ventral roots of spinal nerves remain separate.
 7. Ear with 2 semicircular canals.
 8. Eggs numerous, small. Development indirect with a long larval stage and
metamorphosis.
 9. Both marine and freshwater forms.
 Examples:
 Lampreys-Over 30 species. Petromyzon, Lampetra, Ichthyomyzon.
 Order 2: Myxiniformes (Gr., myxa = slime; oidea = type of):
 Representatives of order are called hagfishes. They are exclusively marine.
 1. Mouth terminal and surrounded by 8 small tentades. Teeth few. No buccal
funnel.
 2. Nostril terminal. Nasohypophyseal sac opens posteriorly in the pharynx.
 3. Gill-pouches and gill-slits 6 to 14 pairs.
 4. Dorsal fin feeble or absent.
 5. Branchial basket poorly developed.
 6. Dorsal and ventral roots of spinal newes united.
 7. Ear with only 1 semicircular canal.
 8. Eggs few, large. Development dark.
 9. Hagfishes are all marine species.
 Examples:
 Hagfishes. About 15 species Myxine, Eptatretus (= Bdellostoma), Paramyxine.
Ammocoete Larva
 a. The ammocoete larva is a small transparent form of about 7 mm in
length.
 b. The larval life persists for a considerable period of time and grows to an
eel-like form measuring about 17 mm. Structurally this larval stage
exhibits an intermediate form between the cephalochordates and
vertebrates.
 c. The suctorial buccal funnel is absent and the mouth is bounded by an
oral hood resembling closely to that of Branchiostoma (Fig. 5.16A).
 d. The major part of the larval phase is spent in burrow. The larva comes
out occasionally to change the feeding habit.
 e. The mouth is surrounded by several branched buccal tentacles.
 f. The teeth are lacking.
 g. The velum is composed of a pair of muscular flaps which regulate the
entry of water current into the pharynx.
 H. The paired eyes are vestigial and are hidden below skin and
muscles.
 i. The unpaired pineal eye is well-developed.
 j. The hypophysial and nasal sacs are poorly developed.
 k. The photoreceptors are abundant in the tail region which is
connected with the lateral-line nerves.
 l. The median dorsal fin is continuous with the caudal fin and
is not divided into two parts by a median notch.
 m. An endostyle is present in ammocoetes larva. It is
composed of two tubes.
 n. The floor of the tubes bears four rows of mucus-secreting
cells. The endostyle in ammocoetes larva is thus not an open
groove as seen in Branchiostoma.
 The endostyle opens to the pharynx by a slit-like aperture and produces
profuse quantity of mucus.
 p. The endostyle is connected with the hyper pharyngeal groove by the
peripharyngeal ciliated bands.
 q. The feeding mechanism is peculiar and the food matters are separated
from the feeding current in the pharyngeal cavity.
 r. The mucus produced by the endostyle entangles the food particles which
are transported to the intestine by the action of the cilia in the pharynx.
 s. The velum and the elaborate muscular system of the branchial basket
help in the maintenance of water-current.
 t. The larva bears seven pairs of branchial sacs which open to the exterior
by gill-slits (Fig. 5.16B).
 u. An additional branchial sac and gill-slit may be present.
 v. A gall bladder is present.
 w. The pronephros persists as the excretory organ.
 Metamorphosis:
 The larval life of Ammocoetes larva is quite long and may continue for 3 to 4 years.
In favourable condition, preferably in winter, the larva metamorphoses into an
adult. During metamorphosis the larval characters are lost.

 The larval stage of the primitive lamprey, known as an ammocoetes larva, serves to
illustrate the much-maligned concept of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny by
resembling the more primitive chordate, Amphioxus, in morphology and
behavior.